Make It A Special Valentine’s Day: Love Yourself First

The pressure by marketers to celebrate Valentine’s Day with New Year’s Eve fanfare is relentless and enough to cause some singles I know to self-medicate with Oreos and chocolate ice cream.

Scarier still are the women in relationships who bluntly tell their beloved, “I better get those $150 red roses and a fancy dinner, or…….” I never understood this mentality and in this regards I empathize with men. It puts the whole man cave thing into perspective.

While I always thought it would be cool to marry on Valentine’s Day, I never attached tremendous significance to it. Maybe it’s because the most important day of the month, after all, is February 25 – my birthday.

This year I plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day with my 9-year-old. We’ll treat ourselves to bowling and a dinner in the ‘hood. Later I’ll pick up some tulips, my favorite flowers, at Whole Foods.

Whether alone in a relationship, I encourage everyone to do something special for herself this Valentine’s Day. As women, we tend to be so consumed nurturing our friends and family, we often overlook our own needs. We’ve also been duped into believing that we need to be in a relationship or have a man in order to be happy. News alert: no one can love you more than yourself.

This Valentine’s Day do something extra special just for you. Feel like eating chocolate for breakfast? Binge watching on “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills?” Splurging on Manolo Blahniks. Do it! You deserve it. But, if you’re clueless in the TLC department, here my suggestions:

Indulge in some good dark chocolate. None of that cheap Hershey’s stuff.

Toast yourself with a glass of champagne. Heck, drink the whole bottle if you like. What do you think AA is for?.

Buy that piece of jewelry, handbag or shoes you’ve been eyeing. After all, it’s your name on the credit card.

Take a long, long bubble bath. For an extral touch, light scented candles.

Meet a girlfriend for drinks at a swanky hotel or bar. Apple martinis are the tops, as chocolate. Yum-o!